Kerrang - South of Devon (June 2000)

It's been a triumphant year for MUSE - they're toured the states with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, earned the respect of Dave Grohl and Gavin Rossdale and gatecrashed the UK top 30. Un fortunately, they've also managed to piss off America's religious right and the inhabitants of their hometown along the way... "It's a bit of a dump," sighs Muse drummer Dominic Howard, tucking into an ice-cream and gazing along the nearby seafront. "But on a sunny day like this, it's beautiful." He's not wrong. The sun's fierce rays kiss this idyllic, sleepy town on the Devon coast, their progress uninterrupted by any clouds. The sea calmly laps at the shore and seagulls swoop and soar above the countless couples who proudly walk their candy floss-laden offspring along the promenade. In the harbour, a dog delirious from the summer heat wrestles with a felled tree in front of the audience of daytime drinkers who laugh at their absurd canine spectacle while shielding their eyes from the glare. With such an unhurried lifestyle, it's no wonder people choose this town to live out their twilight years. However, when the ice-cream parlours and amusement arcades shutters slam down in the month of October, the town quietens. And for the thousand or so youngsters that reside here, there's simply nothing to do. It's no surprise that Muse's debut album 'Showbiz' is an austere, epic soundtrack that echoes their feelings of claustrophobia ad small-town angst. Welcome to Teignmouth, population 15.000. Inside the overbearing neon splendour of the amusement arcade situated on the end of the town's Grand Pier, it becomes clear that Matt Bellamy, despite his painfully gaunt frame, can hurl bowling balls with alarming power. Ignoring orthodox bowling techniques, Muse's frontman seems to enjoy delivering the heavyweight spheres with all the tact of a Scud missile. He scores an impressive 92, although the judges - had there been any - would have surely disapproved of this maverick methods. Dominic Howard and bassist Christ Wolstenholme, unable to match Bellamy's skill on the bowling lane, content themselves with pushing a pocketful of 10 pence pieces into a car driving game. it doesn't work properly and deservedly earns a kick. Muse's dissatisfaction with their hometown was cemented with a series of damning comments in recent interviews. Teignmouth's mayor, for one, took exception to this and went as far as to pose for the local press depositing a copy of 'Showbiz' into a bin. "Did we say anything band about Teignmouth?" grins Matt sarcastically, sipping a decidedly un-rock 'n' roll elderflower juice in the picturesque environs of the town harbour. "Why should we? I take it all back." "The Mayor was pissed off that we said Teignmouth was dull and it's no wonder kids turn to drugs," shrugs Chris. "There was an article in the local paper a week later saying how we'd apologised. He wanted to shake our hands. It was a weird situation." "it got blown out of proportion," continues Matt. "One quote from the magazine article treats it as a sound-bite and judges your whole personality on it." "A lot of people probably had a laug at it, really," reckons Dom. " I mean, it's dead in the winter. All you've got is the local pubs and you get the same old men who sit in the same chair night after night, repeating the same coversations." Why haven't you moved to the capital, then? "Well, we're away from home so much as it is," intones Dom. "It's nice to come back home to peace and quiet and see your friends." indeed muse's frankly meteoric rise has taken them far from this quaint seaside town. Over the past 12 months, their stately, emotive rock has earned them the respect of Gavin Rossdale and Dave Grohl, among others; as a result, the Devon trio have toured with Bush in Europe and joined the recent Foo Fighters/ Red Hot Chili Peppers bill Stateside. Back in Britain, their success has been equally starting. Last single 'Sunburn' crashed into the Top 30 and their recently sold out two shows at London's 2000-capacity Astoria. New single 'Unintended' - despite being the most gentle moment on 'Showbiz' - looks set to increase their profile. "When they booked the first night at the Astoria I was trying to get them to cancel," splutters Matt. " I was thinking, 'Will we fill it? Not a f**ing chance!' Seriously. I didn't want people to think we were bigger than we were. But selling out two nights there is something of a shock." How does it feel to have musicians you admire champion your work? "It changes your perspective of bands like Nirvana," beams Matt. "Seeing Dave Grohl on a daily basis demystifies your perception of someone you grew up listening to. And Gavin Rossdale's a good guy. It's great that they love the music." And was your recent sojourn to America eye-opening? "it was arena rock!" exclaims Matt, punching the air for addedemphasis. "It was an experience, to say the least." "A lot of the venues were seated and it was a very controlled atmosphere," recounted Dom. "There were aisles through the middle with security guards being heavy-handed with the fans if they dared move from their seats." "And signs that said 'No Moshing'," continues Matt. "Virginia turned into a free-for-all and the crowd started ripping up the ice hockey rink's flooring during our set. The barrier caved in and everyone was moshing. The Foo Fighters couldn't play until things had calmed down. Dave Grohl ended up getting his mum onstage to get people to stop rioting. "but," he adds, "the thing with middle America is that people are very warm towards you. Especially if you have the same skin colour." Bellamy also admits that the band made their own share of unwanted friends in America. "We were on the Bible Belt leg of the tour," he sneers. "We got into a lot of religious debates when we were there. I had a lot of people trying to indoctrinate me into Christianity. This guy wrote a 10-page letter to me about how i was trying to fill the hole in my life with music, when really i should turn to Jesus." Pints and elderflower juice drained, we leave the harbour to walk along the golden sands before the murky tide comes in. Two not-entirely-unattractive girls in Korn T-shirts whisper into each others ears and giggle as three local heroes walk past. The band laugh in embarrassment, before Chris decides to show-off in front of the onlookers and wrestles Dom to the ground. "We don't want to play massive venues," says matt, wincing at his bandmates' antics. "The Chili Peppers tour put us off the whole arena thing, in a good way. It's great playing to a lot of new people, but you can't beat the atmosphere of a small gig. "A lot of 'Showbiz' was written about small town angst," he concludes. "it's a study of life. We've been doing all this to try and reach an audience, and have gained so much more experience of life these past few months. The next album will be very different." Kerrang magazine

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